1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data communication apparatus in general and, in particular, to a data communication apparatus and methods for vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Vehicles have been commonly utilized to transport passengers and/or cargos over various roadways throughout the United States. For many years, microprocessor-type and microcontroller-type electronic subsystems were simply not found in most vehicles, and particularly not in heavy-duty vehicles such as tractor-trailer combinations. Only in recent years, for example, has the heavy-duty vehicle industry begun to use sophisticated electronic subsystems in tractor-trailer combinations to perform various tasks that involve data manipulations and data transmissions. Much of the sluggishness in technological developments in the heavy-duty vehicle industry could be attributed to the lack of governmental entities or other authoritative initiatives that would have otherwise required sophisticated electronics subsystems be installed on heavy-duty vehicles.
Also, fleets of automobiles, such as security or law enforcement vehicles, customer service delivery vehicles, and postal delivery vehicles, likewise historically had little or no electronic subsystems. Instead, straight voice communication with two-way radios, pagers or more recently cellular telephones have been used. As most vehicles have moved to having an on-board electronic control unit (“ECU”), more electronic subsystems such as vehicle security, engine operations and monitoring, and advanced acoustical systems have been added or expanded.
Today, there are several methods for providing data communications within vehicles also. For example, a specific way of providing data communications between a tractor and a trailer is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,352 titled “Communications And Control System For Tractor/Trailer And Associated Method” by Lesesky et al. and which is assigned to the assignee of the present application. As described in the above-mentioned patent, the use of the Society of Automotive Engineering (SAE) standard J1708 and SAE standard J1939 are generally utilized for data communications in the heavy-duty vehicle environment. Additionally, for example, techniques and systems for remotely identifying vehicles have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,111,524 titled “Systems And Methods For Identifying Tractors/Trailers And Components Thereto” by Lesesky et al., and techniques and systems for over-the-air or through-the-air data communication have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,064,299 titled “Apparatus And Method For Communication Between Heavy Duty Vehicle And Remote Data Communication Terminal” by Lesesky et al., both of which are also assigned to the same assignee of the present application.
Even though much progress have been recently made in modernizing vehicles, many of the sophisticated electronic subsystems still require extensive retrofitting and/or additions to the vehicles. Thus, many vehicle or fleet owners have been very hesitant in adopting and purchasing sophisticated electronics to upgrade their vehicles because of the high costs and the uncertainty associated with the continuing changes in the electronic technology. Be that as it may, having the ability to monitor and to communicate from any location with the various electronic subsystems associated with a vehicle traveling on the road or positioned at a remote location from a terminal can be beneficial to drivers or passengers, various types of vehicle owners, governmental agencies, and any entity that has a genuine interest in the vehicle industry. Thus, there is still a need for enhanced data communications between a vehicle and a remote data communication terminal.